MaP - Microstructure and Pores GmbH

What MaP - Microstructure and Pores GmbH does

MaP - Microstructure and Pores GmbH is a privately held German limited liability company (GmbH) headquartered in Aachen that provides B2B microstructural analysis services to clients in the geosciences and materials science sectors. Founded in 2014 and led by Managing Director Dr. Joyce Schmatz, the firm employs between 1 and 10 staff — three named professionals: two geologists (Dr. Joyce Schmatz, Dr. Julia Schmitz) and a software engineer (Mingze Jiang). Its primary customers operate in oil and gas exploration and production, with adjacent applications in energy storage and nuclear waste repository characterization, geothermal energy, cement and construction materials, and academic materials science research.

The company's core technology stack is built around Broad Ion Beam Scanning Electron Microscopy (BIB-SEM), which combines argon-ion sputtered surfaces with SEM imaging (SE, BSE) and EDS chemical mapping to produce Gigapixel images at nano-scale resolution. This is extended through three differentiated variants — Cryo-BIB-SEM for cryo-preserved fluid imaging, LMI-BIB-SEM using fusible alloy intrusion to interrogate 3D connected pore networks, and ViP (Virtual Petrograph) for 10 nm-accuracy multi-scale petrographic thin-section analysis — together with the proprietary MaPro image analysis software that applies deep learning algorithms to automated pore space and mineral composition identification. The 2024 launch of MaPro Mineral Phase Segmentation adds deep-learning mineral identification and phase segmentation for SEM images, and MaP has indicated a future option to license MaPro commercially.

Commercially, MaP operates a project-based professional services model with no publicly disclosed pricing, engaging clients directly via email, phone, and conference-sourced leads at events such as SMRI, Interpore, and EAGE. Revenue is augmented by funded R&D collaborations including the BMWi/ZIM-backed Auto-Vitrinite project with RWTH Aachen and the Shell GameChanger-funded carbonate pore-and-fracture classification project (closed June 2021), as well as the multi-institution Permea2 fault-zone permeability consortium. The firm is founder-controlled with no disclosed institutional investment, is registered in Germany, and recently relocated to larger offices at Junkerstraße 93 in Aachen to support customer delivery.

Name

MaP - Microstructure and Pores GmbH

Legal name

MaP – Microstructure and Pores GmbH

Website

https://m-a-p.expert

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

MaP - Microstructure and Pores GmbH is an Aachen-based B2B services firm delivering high-resolution microstructural analysis of geological and material samples using proprietary BIB-SEM, Cryo-BIB-SEM, LMI-BIB-SEM, and ML-driven MaPro imaging for oil and gas, energy storage, geothermal, and cement sectors.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Geological Microstructure Analysis

NAICS

Support Activities for Mining (213), Geophysical Surveying and Mapping Services (54136)

SIC

Oil & Gas Field Exploration Services (1382), Laboratory Analytical Instruments (3826)

akta.pro primary industry

Mineral Exploration & Geoscience Services (Geology, Geophysics, Geochemistry, Resource Modeling) (IMAKAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Radiological Characterization, Surveys & Site Assessment (EUAKAFAC), Geotechnical Investigation & Site Characterization (Boreholes, In-situ Testing, Lab Testing) (IMAFAOAG)

Keywords

• Scanning electron microscopy
• Petrographic analysis services
• Pore connectivity analysis
• Geological microstructure imaging
• Rock characterization services

Headquarters

HQ city

Aachen

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Microstructural Analysis Services: Professional services providing high-resolution microstructural analysis of heterogeneous tight rocks and materials using BIB-SEM, Cryo-BIB-SEM, LMI-BIB-SEM, and ViP technologies. Services include gigapixel imaging, porosity analysis, quantified mineralogy, and advanced pore analysis.
2. MaPro Software: Image analysis software using machine learning algorithms for microstructure analysis. Future licensing decisions pending - may be licensed commercially or kept for internal use to provide results to customers.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

MaP provides B2B microstructural analysis services for geological materials and rocks, combining Broad Ion Beam Scanning Electron Microscopy (BIB-SEM) with proprietary machine learning image analysis (MaPro software). Core offerings include gigapixel nano-scale imaging, pore connectivity characterization, mineral phase quantification, and petrographic analysis for clients in oil & gas, geothermal, CO2/H2 storage, nuclear waste repository, cement, and materials science sectors.

Product overview

MaP - Microstructure and Pores GmbH offers a comprehensive portfolio of microstructure analysis services and products. The core technology stack consists of five main platforms: BIB-SEM (Broad Ion Beam - Scanning Electron Microscopy) for nano-scale Gigapixel imaging; Cryo-BIB-SEM for cryo-preserved fluid analysis; LMI-BIB-SEM (Liquid Metal Injection) for 3D pore network characterization; ViP (Virtual Petrograph) for multi-scale petrographic analysis; and MaPro (Image Analysis Software) for machine learning-based image processing. These platforms are complemented by specialized analysis products including mineral phase porosity analysis, rock salt microstructure analysis, cement clinker composition analysis using MaPro, core photographs and 360° core scans, grain shape analysis, thin section petrographic analysis, CT analysis, and pore connectivity analysis. The portfolio serves geosciences, material sciences, and life sciences markets with applications in tight rock analysis, reservoir characterization, geothermal exploration, CO2/H2 storage, and nuclear waste repository assessment.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ViP – Virtual Petrograph: Multi-scale automated petrographic analysis system for segmenting fracture networks, minerals, pores and mineral overgrowths
• MaPro – Image Analysis Software

Products and services

• BIB-SEM Gigapixel Imaging

Quantifiable outcome

• Up to 80% higher accuracy in analyzing eco-efficient clinker phases compared to traditional EDS methods
• +2 more outcomes

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability5 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• ExciteminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerScientific partner network in the field of imaging and fluid dynamics. MaP presents scientific partner networks on their website.
• FluidNETminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerScientific partner network focusing on imaging and fluid dynamics. Listed as part of MaP's scientific partner networks.
• Kearney Point Resources LtdminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerConsultation partner providing Subsurface Evaluation, Sealing and Containment Analysis, CO2 Seal Integrity Analysis. Listed on ET2SMEs mapping tool alongside MaP.
• RWTH Aachen University (Institute for Geology and Geochemistry of Petroleum and Coal)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFuE-cooperation (Research & Development cooperation) partner for the Auto-Vitrinite project. Project funded by Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWi)'s Central Innovation Programme (ZIM). Collaboration involves novel preparation procedure using BIB-SEM analysis.
• Johannes Gutenberg-Universität MainzminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partner in the Permea2 project focused on deformation-dependent development of fault zones and clay smear barrier behaviour.
• IGEM - Institut für geothermisches RessourcenmanagementminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partner in the Permea2 project for geothermal resource management research.
• Friedrich Alexander-Universität ErlangenminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partner in the Permea2 project for fault zone permeability research.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Halliburton: Halliburton is a global oilfield services major with reservoir consulting and rock analysis capabilities through its Landmark and Halliburton Labs offerings — a broad incumbent that competes for similar subsurface characterization budgets as part of an integrated service line.
• Bruker: Bruker manufactures micro-CT, EDS, and other analytical instruments (and through micro-CT acquired digital rock player Ingrain) used for pore-scale rock analysis — a broad incumbent that supplies the instrumentation backbone MaP also depends on, with overlapping workflow capabilities.
• Oxford Instruments: Oxford Instruments supplies EDS, EBSD, nanoanalysis and AFM systems used for petrographic and microstructural characterization, overlapping MaP's analytical instrumentation footprint as a broad incumbent.
• SLB (Schlumberger): SLB is the world's largest oilfield services company with broad reservoir characterization, digital rock, and geoscience capabilities including pore-scale analysis — a broad incumbent whose offerings overlap MaP's reservoir rock and rock-mechanics work as part of a much larger portfolio.
• Leica Microsystems: Leica Microsystems (a Danaher company) is a leading provider of optical and digital microscopy systems widely used in petrography — comparable to MaP at the optical thin-section end of MaP's petrographic (ViP) workflow, as part of a much larger microscopy portfolio.
• Carl Zeiss Microscopy: Carl Zeiss is a leading microscopy and optics manufacturer with SEM and crossbeam (FIB-SEM) systems used in materials and geoscience laboratories — a broad incumbent in the same analytical-instrument category MaP utilizes for its core BIB-SEM workflows.
• Thermo Fisher Scientific: Thermo Fisher owns the FEI electron-microscopy business and the PerGeos/Avizo digital rock software, making it both an instrument supplier to MaP and a direct competitor for advanced SEM-based pore-scale analysis as part of its broader analytical instruments portfolio.
• Hitachi High-Tech: Hitachi High-Tech manufactures SEM, FIB-SEM, and electron-microscopy systems used in materials and geological characterization, comparable to MaP's analytical instrumentation stack as a broad incumbent in electron microscopy.

Emerging players

• Tescan: Tescan is a Czech Republic-based mid-sized SEM manufacturer focused on materials science and geological applications — comparable to the broader microscopy incumbents but smaller and more specialized, with workflows overlapping in petrographic SEM.

Direct peers

• Core Laboratories: Core Laboratories (NYSE: CLB) is the largest independent provider of reservoir and production-enhancement services to the oil & gas industry, including petrographic analysis, SCAL and rock characterization — directly comparable to MaP's microstructural analysis services for reservoir rocks.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about MaP - Microstructure and Pores GmbH